If there were no credits and nobody told you, it would be impossible to guess that this mob comedy was directed by Brian De Palma. The premise has comic possibilities (two good-natured, low-ranking hoodlums who also happen to be best friends are ordered to kill each other), but the story soon abandons that premise; this film is too touchy-feely for a black comedy. There is also a problem in the chemistry between Danny De Vito and Joe Piscopo: De Vito is full of energy, but sometimes he seems to be playing alone because Piscopo can't keep up with him. But the biggest problem is that the movie is short on laughs - I laughed out loud only twice: at De Vito's "Are You Talking' To Me?" impression at the start, and in the "Just do what I do!" scene in the church. Cute Italian-flavored music score by Ira Newborn. *1/2 out of 4.

Let's just say it up front: Brian De Palma doesn't direct comedies, at least not as a major part of his career. When he's done so it's usually in the realm of black comedies or satires, like his early films (Greetings/Hi Mom) or the rightfully maligned Bonfire of the Vanities. His sense of comedy is BIG (note the caps) and broad, but his farce is nowhere near the kind of genius of Mel Brooks. His slapstick is so large and spread out in scenes that it makes Looney Tunes look subtle (having Captain Lou Albino as one of the main bad-guys, the "Fixer" as he's called, is part of it). And the story is fairly idiotic too.Yet I found myself enjoying Wise Guys, but for the little it aimed for. This isn't a grand vision like De Palma would immediately after go for in The Untouchables and Casualties of War. It was a trifle, a way to test himself in a low budget with actors he hadn't worked with before- chiefly stars Danny De Vito and (yes, star) Joe Piscapo. They play grunts whose job is to serve at the behest of mob boss Castelo (Dan Hedaya, hamming it up like it's nobody's business). When the two dopes lay a bet on a horse that isn't the one Castelo bet on and loses, they're each given a charge: each must kill the other to prove loyalty.This, of course, is another set-up for a series of missteps in the two knuckleheads running away from the Castelo bosses, all the way down in Atlantic City as Harry tries to find his Uncle Mike, very much dead. The subtitle for the film could be called 'Wackiness Ensues', and De Palma doesn't let anything go past as being unnoticeable. Particularly is one scene, perhaps De Palma's most daring (or just recognizably 'De Palma) cinematographic-ally when Harry has to go turn on 'the car' that might explode any moment (the shot speeds up and does a 360 as everyone runs away from the scene, a hoot-take on his usual style). And in the script, some lines of dialog and set-ups are so blunt you can feel the force at the back of your head.But somehow, against all of the odds of the 'ho-hum' quality of the set-up, it's fun because of the acting. Joe Piscapo is mentioned today, just his name, as a punch-line, but there was a time when he was at least halfway amusing (mostly in skits with Eddie Murphy on SNL), and here he's let loose with the a character like Moe who, I guess compared to Harry, is the straight guy depending on the scene. Harry, meanwhile, gives Danny De Vito a real chance to chomp at the bit: he's so over the top, but he's also a believable luck-believer (he goes for it the way Bible-thumpers go for God), and in those moments when Piscapo falls totally flat, somehow De Vito comes back in to make things fun in the delirious way. Others like Lou Albino and, on a more subtle-menacing scale, Harvey Keitel, do a competent job in their roles.So, going in and expecting a really great comedy or just an interesting piece of art will mean some disappointment. As a juicy diversion that ask for nothing except a few chuckles by way of the New Jersey Turnpike, it does its job reasonably well; De Palma fans who find themselves going through his thrillers and blockbusters first will come across this, possibly, last in his catalog. But it's far from his worst.

"Wise Guys" is probably the least regarded movie that Brian De Palma has ever made. After the financial failure of "Body Double", but before his blockbuster "Untouchables", this flat little comedy is an attempt to regain some clout and profit for the studios.A gangster comedy in the vein of "The Freshman" (Brando) or "Analyse This" (De Niro), "Wise Guys" revolves around two friends who bumble from one silly situation to the next as they "try to make it big". There are traces of "Abbot and Costello" and traces of the "Two Stooges" (De Palma names numerous characters after each troupe), but the comedy feels dated and needs more wit. Worse still, "Wise Guys" finds De Palma reigning back all his better instincts, the film devoid of the flamboyant camera work which so defines the rest of the director's filmography.5/10- Worth no viewings.

DeVito (Harry) and Piscopo (Moe) are a great team. Both of them play their parts to perfection and Piscopo (in the funeral/suicide attempt scene) even sells his extreme grief without even saying a word. I think he is highly underrated as an actor. DeVito plays the well intentioned snake oil salesman to a T. Every idea he has goes wrong in his quest for "respectability", and he drags Moe down with him in every endeavor. But their loyalty to each other keeps them going.This movie is funny from the get go and even tosses in the tear-jerking twist that throws you for a complete loop. Lou Albano is perfectly cast as Frank "the Fixer" Acovano. He's a major highlight of the movie. It's well written, acted, and just a very funny film. If you haven't seen it you should rent it ASAP.